


David's Memories: Blood and Tears

by jbhughes54enwiler



Series: David's Memories [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Gen, Major Character Injury, Major Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:14:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22108450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbhughes54enwiler/pseuds/jbhughes54enwiler
Summary: David, now a human slave under Yellow Diamond, is forced to be a living practice-dummy for Yellow Diamond's soldiers.  These are David's memories of the darkest moments of his life.
Series: David's Memories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1591399
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	David's Memories: Blood and Tears

David’s Memory 02: Blood and Tears

Author’s note: So, guys, this is where things get dark. Yes, even darker than David’s entire world ending. Following is a chronicle of the worst moments of David’s life; his time as a living practice dummy for Yellow Diamond’s army. I think this goes without saying, but this is an extremely graphic story and David gets badly injured A LOT, so skip this one if you don’t want to read about lotsa blood and stuff. You have been warned.

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David wakes up in his cage. He takes assessment of his body. His clothes are in tatters and his shirt has worn to the point where his navel is visible, and his jeans are worn up to his knees. Every inch of his skin is caked in dirt. His ribs are visible through his skin. He wrestles with the collar around his neck, chaining him to the wall of his enclosure. He remembers the painful shocks that Peridot had given him through the collar whenever he disobeyed her, or sometimes she electrocuted him just because she felt like it.

He thinks of his mother for the umpteenth time, how she is now just another pile of charred bones in the ashes of his hometown. He felt like crying, but he knew better than that; Peridot didn’t like it when he started with his “infernal howling” and had been all too trigger-happy with the electric collar lately. So he just sits there in silence, his head buried in his knees.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps sounded from outside. David looks up. He didn’t know what was going on, but Peridot certainly did. She stows her holo-display and turns to face the door. It opens, and Peridot makes the Diamond salute. Yellow Diamond enters the room, looks at Peridot, then looks with mild disgust at David.

Peridot: How may I help you, my Diamond?

Yellow Diamond: This human you have in your care; I need it for a special task, open the cage.

Peridot: Yes, right away, your radiance. (Reopens her display and taps a few times. First the cage beeps and opens, then the collar beeps and drops off David’s neck)

Despite his newfound freedom, David knows better than to attempt to escape with the giant Gem nearby. Yellow crouches down and grabs David in her hand, then quickly bubbles him. Thinking the bubble is airtight, David holds his breath. Yellow notices this.

Yellow Diamond: You can breathe in there, human. Don’t seal your air-sacs, you’ll only run out of oxygen before you arrive where I want you.

David lets go of his breath, exhaling heavily. Yellow turns to the door, then looks back at the saluting Peridot.

Yellow Diamond: As you were. (Leaves)

Yellow carries the bubbled David through a huge, Diamond-sized hallway. David wonders to himself where exactly he is. He can’t be far from Henleaf Town, but then again, the Jasper that had captured him knocked him unconscious soon after she caught him, so he could be anywhere. Soon, they reach a door. Yellow puts her hand on a diamond-shaped panel and the door opens. On the other side was a large arena set outdoors. Trees surround the open space. David quickly attempts to formulate a plan to escape into the forest as soon as he’s unbubbled. However, he soon realizes they’re not alone: On the edges of the arena are a variety of soldier-class Gems, mostly Quartzes and Agates, milling about as if they’re waiting for someone. Seeing Yellow, they quickly organize themselves in front of the Diamond and all salute their leader.

Yellow Diamond: (Sets down David in his bubble in front of the Gems) Listen up! This is your new combat training regimen! Your missions will be to quash human resistance, therefore your training will involve fighting live humans. As a beginner level, this human will be unarmed.

A dark-pink Quartz soldier gives a look at David and she smiles with a grin that instantly tells David that this Gem wants very much to hurt him. He swallows nervously, which the Quartz notices, causing her murderous smile to grow even wider.

Yellow Diamond: You have ONE rule. Do NOT kill the human. You are free to injure him, but anyone who terminates his life will answer to me. And... Begin! (She pops David's bubble)

David instantly takes off. His overwhelming instinct to survive kicks in, and he searches for any possible way to escape. The Gems all summon their weapons as Yellow Diamond steps back to the sidelines. That one Quartz, whom David not-so-affectionately nicknamed Evil Quartz at that point, took the lead. David, malnourished as he is, can’t reach a sufficient speed to stay away from the pack of soldiers, and Evil Quartz easily catches up to him.

Evil Quartz: Where you going ‘lil guy? We’re not gonna hurt you!

David: W-What’s with all the swords then?

Evil Quartz: Oh, these? They’re our welcome present for you.

Before David can react, she slashes at him, slicing a wide cut into his exposed gut. David screams, Evil Quartz laughs, and an uninterested Yellow Diamond watched from afar as the mix of Agates and Quartzes surrounded the helpless human.

Evil Quartz: Hey, comrades! We don’t need our fancy Gem weapons to hurt this puny thing. We’d just end up killing it and we all know how our Diamond feels about that!

The gang nods and they all de-summon their swords, whips, etc. David starts up running again, dodging through the Gems, blind terror carrying his body into a wall, where he stopped and turned to face the oncoming group of Gems, his heart dropping into his stomach. Now effectively cornered, the Quartz Brigade surrounds him again, fists locked and loaded. Evil Quartz reaches him first, and she holds David by his neck against the wall, goading the other Gems to begin assaulting him. David is lost in a storm of pummeling fists, his pained cries growing more desperate and pitiful with each blow as his body is attacked from all sides.

Yellow Diamond: That’s ENOUGH! (Gets up)

The team stops attacking, and Evil Quartz lets go of David, who falls onto his hands and knees, blood dripping out of his cut onto the pavement below, the crimson droplets making small smacking sounds as they hit the ground, and tears dropping from his eyes. David can’t think of anything but the pain he’s in. Through his hazy vision, he sees Yellow Diamond approaching him, and she puts him in another bubble. 

Several hours later…

Peridot, holding a tray of food including bread and carrots, approaches David’s cage. Looking up from her screen, she sees that the young man is backed up against the far wall of the cage, a distant and fearful look in his eyes and his whole body is shivering wildly. His cut has been bandaged, but his body is also covered from his face to his hip in bruises. 

Peridot: Eat, human. (Hands the tray through the cage’s food port)

David is too lost in his trauma to even notice the food. He sits there trembling for ten minutes before Peridot notices that he hasn’t touched it. She opens the notepad on her holo-screen and types out: HUMAN 12-3A IS NOT TAKING IN NUTRIENTS. SUBJECT IS DISPLAYING CONSTANT AVERSION TO SURROUNDINGS AND MAY HAVE SUFFERED MENTAL DAMAGE FROM YELLOW DIAMOND’S TRAINING REGIMEN.

The next day…

David is suffering through another training session. He receives at least twelve new cuts on his chest, belly, legs, and arms, as well as a black eye from where Evil Quartz had decked him in the face. Back in his cage, Peridot notes how much further the human had sunk into his pain and officially recommends to her Diamond that Human 12-3A be pulled from training exercises. Yellow chooses to ignore the memo but also cancels the next day’s training session.

Two days later…

David doesn’t even try to run from the spot where Yellow Diamond puts him. He just sits there, patiently awaiting today’s beating.

Agate 1: Uhh, is it going to flee from us, or…?

Agate 2: This is awkward.

Quartz: Did we finally break it?

Evil Quartz: Well, it’s no fun if it isn’t trying to evade us. Hey human! Do something! Run! Hide! Don’t just sit there!

David: What’s the point? You’re just going to catch me anyway. Do your worst. I’m waiting. (Crosses his arms)

Evil Quartz gets angry. She runs up to the human and draws her sword from her gem, and begins slicing into him. Despite the damage he’s taking, David shows no reaction to being attacked. After all the trauma David had been through, he had become numb to the pain these Gems were dishing out to him. After receiving another 14 gashes on his body, Evil Quartz finally gives up, and she steps back, lets out an exasperated cry, and yells to Yellow Diamond:

Evil Quartz: My Diamond! Give us a new human! This one’s not working anymore!

Yellow Diamond: (Gets up) You are in no position to demand anything from me, soldier. However, I acknowledge that this human is exhibiting very unusual behavior for its species. You are all dismissed!

The soldiers salute Yellow and leave. Yellow crouches down to pick up the profusely bleeding David.

Yellow Diamond: What kind of display was that, creature? I have never seen an organic take that many hits without flinching. Have these exercises truly hardened you that much? (She has a sudden idea that David would make a good soldier, but quickly banishes the thought) I’ll… Take you back to your cage. (Bubbles him)

The next few days are uneventful. David’s already-ragged shirt is now slashed away to nothing, and in the absence of his old tee, most of his torso is now clad in blood-stained bandages. Now completely numb to his surroundings, even Peridot is somewhat unsettled at David’s aura of cold, empty nonchalance.

The last day…

A sudden knocking at the door startles Peridot.

Peridot: You may enter.

Through the door comes Evil Quartz. Her face shows a calmness David had never seen out of her.

Evil Quartz: Yellow says that I’m to… Bring this human to the arena.

Peridot: Then why didn’t she come here herself? She usually retrieves Human 12-3A in person.

Evil Quartz: (Looking a little scared, showing David that something wasn’t right here) She, uhh… Had more important things to attend to.

Peridot: (Gives Evil Quartz a sideways look, then shrugs) Very well. (Opens the cage and disengages the electric collar)

Evil Quartz grabs David by the arm and pulls him down the hall to the arena. David quickly notices that there is no one else in the stadium.

David: This isn’t an official training exercise, is it?

Evil Quartz: Shut up, human! You embarrassed me when you put up that stupid facade of yours! You just had to act all tough! Now you’re going to pay!

David then realizes something that actually does scare him. He’s alone with a deranged Gem soldier who has a sadistic obsession with hurting humans, whom he happened to anger by not showing fear or pain back at her. A cold dread begins to seep into him when he makes the connection in his head: Evil Quartz is going to kill him. And with Yellow Diamond unaware of this “special one-on-one training,” she can do whatever she wants to him. With that, David begins to show the fear that Evil Quartz wants out of him.

Evil Quartz: Oh, now you wanna be scared! It’s a little too late for that, little boy! (Draws her sword)

David takes off, making a straight beeline for the woods. He thinks it’s his fear-charged vision playing with him, but he swears he sees movement in the bushes in front of him, a swish of a shadowy dress among the brush. David knows that this isn’t some game anymore; he is now genuinely fighting for his life. He begins to frantically pant, and, deciding that the figures in the forest are real, he begins to cry out.

David: Somebody, help!! Help me!!

Evil Quartz: (Stalking patiently forward) No one’s coming to save you, little fleshie! (Takes off towards him)

Evil Quartz quickly catches up to David. She locks him in a stranglehold, then relishes David’s terror as she slides her blade across David’s cheek, causing a droplet of blood to seep out.

Evil Quartz: I’ll make this quick. (Draws back her blade and impales David through his back, the blood-soaked tip jutting out of David’s exposed chest)

David lets out a choked cry, and a trickle of blood streams out of his mouth. His vision fades in and out, but then he sees the movement in the bushes become more definite.

Evil Quartz: Hahaha, look at all that red stuff! This feels so good! I love the sound they make when you skewer them--

A Gem jumps with extreme speed straight out of the bushes, clad in a pink floor-length dress resembling a flower. With a large pink sword in her hand, she charges the bewildered Quartz and with a deft stroke, beheads her, causing her and her sword to poof. David collapses onto the ground, making pained gurgling noises, his attempts at screaming with a throat full of blood. The Gem makes a move to plunge her sword into Evil Quartz’s Gem, but she is suddenly restrained by a Pearl from behind.

Pearl: Don’t shatter her, focus on the human!

The Gem turns to David, takes one look at the mortally wounded young man, and her face changes from rage to sorrow in an instant. She gracefully walks over to David, and kneels down, placing him on her lap. She begins to sob, tears freely flowing from her eyes onto David’s chest. David, having absolutely no idea what the strange Gem was doing, suddenly notices a strong tingling sensation coming from his pierced heart, and is awestruck when he sees the wound on his chest closing up.

???: It’s okay… You’re safe now…

David is struggling to hold onto consciousness. He coughs up the blood that had been trapped in his throat and some of it splatters onto the Gem’s face. She giggles a little, as if she was happy that the human had done that, and she flips David onto his back, crying more magic tears onto the wound on his back. At that point, David goes limp, succumbing to blood loss.

End memory.


End file.
